Cheap Airfare to Alaska?
 

Any advice on who has the cheapest? I'm trying to book a 1 way cruise which ends up in Anchorage and am having a problem finding a cheap flight.

Some more info could help....

Where are you coming from?

Where does the cruise start? and do you need to fly there?

What are the dates?

Cruising from Vancouver to Whittier leaving May 29th so the flight back will be around June 9 or 10. Going back to Orlando.

It's usually cheaper to have the cruise company book it for you. Otherwise, you'll be paying a lot for a one-way flight like that.

You need to do some number crunching.

Here are the alternatives that you should look at:

1) Fly to Seattle, bus, car or train to Vancouver, then one-way ticket back to Seattle from Anchorage then return to Orlando on the return portion of your Seattle round trip ticket.

2) "Open jaw" itinerary, fly to Vancouver, fly home from Anchorage (probably via Denver or Chicago or Dallas or some such). Use the "multiple flights" (or similar language) options on the search engines.

3) Same as (2) but to Seattle instead of Vancouver (then plus car, bus etc.) Sometimes the additional taxes and demand for seats into Vancouver makes the Seattle option more cost effective, plus we'll enjoy your money here more than they will in Vancouver ;)

I suspect you'll find (2) or (3) the best value.

In my experience the cruise companies are not competitive with what you can arrange on your own.

I have never seen any bargains with cruise air and always find them several hundred more.

As already mentioned, look at the multi city option on booking sites. It is most always significantly cheaper to fly into Seattle, of which I most always do. You need to arrive at least a day early, but I stay in Bellingham the night before, in a cheap hotel, then just an easy 1+++ hour drive to Canada Place. I strongly encourage you to consider adding several days for some interior Alaska travel. JUST EXCELLENT wonderful opportunities to take advantage of. Highlights are certain Denali Park and Kenai Fjords but plenty else too. I would never consider a one way cruise without it. :)

With independent air, be certain to factor in transfers, at least $50pp Whittier/Anchorage and $30 cab in Vancouver.

If you care to, take a look at some interior travel photos. http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen

BQ, all this time, and I finally find a link to photos of yours. Seriously, I don't know if that's a new addition to the web or not, but thanks, from all of us!

When ya gonna write that travel guide??!! ;-)

I don't know where you're flying from, but we got a great fare on Alaska for early July from SF with a stop in Seattle. I booked ir in early December. Round trip was less than $1,000 for three adults.